Dave Matthews

For other people named David Matthews, see David Matthews (disambiguation).

This article is about Dave Matthews. For the band, see Dave Matthews Band.

Dave Matthews

David John Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is now a naturalized American, Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band but he has also worked as a solo artist, and with other musicians such as Tim Reynolds and Trey Anastasio. An occasional actor, he has also appeared in several feature films.

Biography

Early life

Dave is the third of four children born to John and Val Matthews. At age two, Dave's family migrated to Yorktown Heights in Westchester County, New York, where his father, a physicist, started working for IBM.

In 1974, the family again moved to Cambridge, England for a year before returning to New York—where his father died from lung cancer in 1977. Nevin Martell argues that Dave's father's death may be an impetus for his "carpe diem" lyrics. The family moved back to Johannesburg, South Africa in 1980.

Upon Dave's graduation from St Stithians College high school, he faced a requirement by the South African government to put in two years of compulsory military service. Coming from a devoutly Quaker family, military service was not an option.

Dave moved to New York, then Charlottesville, Virginia in 1986, a town Dave's family had lived in before he was born. It was in Charlottesville that he became part of the local music community. Pursuing various interests, Matthews tried his hand on stage, acting in various local productions. While enthusiastic for music, and a popular bartender at a local watering hole called Miller's, Matthews was intimidated by the quality of the local musicians and largely shied away from performing publicly. But local star (and future collaborator) Tim Reynolds finally goaded Matthews to join him on stage one night, and Matthews stunned the audience with his performance. This eventually led to his first professional musical gig at a modern dance performance by the Miki Liszt Dance Company, singing "Sensitive Feelings," composed by John D'earth and Dawn Thompson. In 1990 he hatched the idea to form his own band.

In 1994, Dave's older sister, Anne, who lived in South Africa, was murdered by her husband who subsequently committed suicide on or around January 27, 1994. - an event that has had a drastic effect on Dave's outlook on life. Immediately following her death, Dave was forced to return to the United States due to unbreakable professional obligations. On January 29, 1994, he performed with Tim Reynolds at Wetlands in New York where he dedicated that performance "to her memory". His later album "Under the Table and Dreaming" would be dedicated to her.Anne is survived by her two children who, upon Anne's death, traveled to America, where Dave and his younger sister Jane took responsibility for their upbringing. They continue to raise them to this day.

Formation of Dave Matthews Band

Matthews had originally envisioned someone else singing his songs but instead decided to use his own vocals. Yet after writing his first few songs, including "The Song that Jane Likes" and "Recently", he began to consider starting his own band. Matthews formed The Dave Matthews Band in early 1991 with Boyd Tinsley, LeRoi Moore, Carter Beauford, Stefan Lessard, and Peter Griesar (who left the band a short time later) while he was working as a bartender at Miller's in Charlottesville. The band's first show was on April 20 1991, at the Earth Day Festival in Charlottesville, Virginia.

They began booking gigs on local stages even though they did not have a name. They considered "Dumela", a South African word for hello, but no real enthusiasm was ever felt. They dropped the idea. It is reported that someone from the band telephoned a place where they were booked and said to "just write Dave Matthews and a band will show up." The person receiving the call wrote "band" after the name, and consequently it stuck.

Residents of Charlottesville, VA and students at UVA in the early 90s remember $1 Tuesdays at Trax, a local bar where Dave and the Band played weekly. Bootlegs of these shows have been circulating on the internet for years.

Music

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds during an acoustic show in Amherst, MA in 2007.

Originally receiving his musical training on piano, Dave Matthews took the acquired knowledge with his musical skills and transferred them over to the guitar. He helped DMB manager Coran Capshaw found ATO Records in 2000, and he remains one of the principals of that label. Matthews sang on the track "Sing Along" on Blue Man Group's second album The Complex in 2003. Later that year he released a solo album, "Some Devil", which went platinum; its single, "Gravedigger", won a Grammy Award in 2004. To support the album, Matthews toured with a group of musicians (most of whom performed on "Some Devil") under the name Dave Matthews & Friends. This side project of Matthews continues to be active when DMB is on hiatus.

Matthews is also a close friend of Bela Fleck. Matthews appears as a guest vocalist on Bela Fleck and the Flecktones' 1998 release Left of Cool and both Fleck and Flecktones bassist Victor Wooten have made numerous appearances both live and studio with DMB. The Flecktones also opened for DMB on several tours.

Matthews appeared solo and sang "Everyday" on the post-September 11,2001, worldwide televised telethon, "America: A Tribute to Heroes".

Matthews recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for "Live from Abbey Road" on the 14th May 2006.

Dave and Tim Reynolds recently did a three show tour performing at the Wang Theater for Performing Arts in Boston, MA, the campus of University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a much anticipated show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The dates of these shows were April 20, 21, and 22, 2007. The show at Radio City Music Hall (April 22, 2007) in New York City has been released as the second Dave and Tim CD/DVD combination set. The first being Dave and Tim Live at Luther College in '99. They played the show in '96.

Acting

Dave Matthews has also acted in four feature films. He played Will Coleman in the 2003 adaptation of the novel "Where the Red Fern Grows". He also portrayed the character Otis, the timid and shy cousin of the owner of a small pet-shop which he is caretaking, in the 2005 film "Because of Winn-Dixie", which was based on the novel of the same name. In 2007, Matthews appeared briefly in the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, where he plays a homosexual salesman. In 2008, he appeared in another Adam Sandler movie, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, as a racist character named James. His next film is Lake City with Sissy Spacek and Troy Garity.

In 2007, Matthews guest starred in the FOX drama series House in third season episode "Half-Wit". He played a piano-playing musical savant who ended up having half of his brain removed in order to recover from his mental retardation, but at the expense of his musical abilities. Matthews had a piano double for the complex pieces but played the simpler pieces.

Dave Matthews' record label, ATO, also recently branched out into the film industry with the company's first feature film Joshua. Dave Matthews also wrote and performed a song called "The Fly" for the ending credits of the movie.

Farming and wine

Since 2000, Matthews has been one of the board members of Farm Aid along with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young. Matthews owns 542 hectares (1,340 acres) of farmland near Scottsville, Virginia named Maple Hill Farm, where he grows organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs through a community-supported agriculture program. Close to the farm, Matthews maintains the 1.6 hectare (4 acre) Blenheim Vineyards which utilizes gravity flow and other gentle winemaking techniques.

Personal life

Matthews married his long time girlfriend, Ashley Harper, a naturopathic doctor, on August 10, 2000. The couple have twin daughters, Stella Busina and Grace Anne, born on August 15, 2001, and a son, August Oliver, born on June 19, 2007. They currently reside in Seattle, Washington.

Charity

Matthews has both personally and with his band mates been very active in charity work. Matthews has performed several benefit concerts for music education, Hurricane Katrina victims, and most recently victims of the Virginia Tech shooting. At that concert, on September 6, 2007, they were joined by John Mayer, Phil Vassar, and Nas. The whole concert lasted 6 hours and more than 52,000 people attended. The Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band is administered by the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. "Established in 1999, the Bama Works Fund supports charitable programs in the Charlottesville area. Grants are limited to the City of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson and Orange. Grants may also be made nationally and internationally, but proposals from organizations beyond the Charlottesville area are considered by invitation only."

In 2008 he participated in a music album called Songs for Tibet, together with a number of other celebrities as an initiative to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso.

Politics

Matthews has openly supported the 2008 presidential campaign for Barack Obama, both in the primaries and in the general election. On Sunday, April 6, he and Tim Reynolds played a concert titled "Change Rocks" to encourage students in Indiana to register to vote. The tickets were distributed by the Obama campaign. Even though he was recently bereaved by the loss of band co-founder and saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, he and Tim Reynolds played for DNC delegates on Sunday, August 24 at Red Rocks.

Past and present equipment

• Martin DM3MD Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar model numbers 1, 2 and 3
• Martin HD-28V Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
• Martin D-35 Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
• Martin D12-28 Steel 12-String Acoustic Guitar
• Taylor 914C Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
• Taylor 714 Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
• Taylor W65 Steel 12-String Acoustic Guitar
• Taylor Custom Baritone Jumbo Guitar (Based on LKSM6)
• Yamaha Country Jumbo CJ-818SB 6 String Guitar
• Gibson J-150 6 String Guitar
• Gibson Chet Atkins SST Solid Body Acoustic Guitar (not used since 2000)
• Lakewood M-32 Steel 6-String Acoustic Guitar
• Veillette Gryphon 12-String Guitar
• Modulus Genesis Three SH
• Jerry Jones Baritone Electric Guitar
• Santa Cruz Bob Brozman Baritone
• Dunlop Tortex .6mm Guitar Picks
• D'Addario EXP17 Strings (6-String)
• D'Addario EJ39 Strings (12-String)
• Matchless DC-30 Amplifier
• Shure UHF Wireless System
• Shure UHE Antenna Distro
• UltraSound/BSS Audio Soundweb Custom Switcher
• Korg DTR-1 Digital Tuner
• Taylor GS7
• Taylor T5
• Taylor 854ce 12-string Acoustic Guitar

Discography

See also: Dave Matthews Band discography

Studio albums

• Some Devil (2003)
• Imagine We Were (2005) – as Tribe of Heaven; originally recorded in 1989

Live albums

• Live at Luther College (1999) – with Tim Reynolds
• Live at Radio City (2007) – with Tim Reynolds

Singles

• "Gravedigger (2003)
• "Save Me" (2003)
• "Oh" (2004)
• "Eh Hee" (2007 - iTunes exclusive)

Awards

Grammys

• 1997: Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group – "So Much to Say", Dave Matthews Band
• 2004: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance – "Gravedigger", Dave Matthews

ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards

• Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture – "Where Are You Going" (for Mr. Deeds)

Honorary degrees

• Dave Matthews was awarded D.Ma honoris causa by Haverford College on May 15, 2005, and was invited to speak at Commencement.

Guitar

• 2002: Orville Gibson Award for Best Acoustic Guitarist

External links

• Official Website
• The Official Dave Matthews Band Fan Association
• The Hook weekly on the upcoming House, M.D. episode
• Driven, an episode of the VH1 show, featuring Matthews
• Interview
• Live Earth 2007 Live Performance Video
• Dave Matthews at IMDb